5 held in connection with armed robbery, beating

Four area residents were charged Monday with aggravated robbery in connection with the armed robbery and beating of a city man.

A teenage girl also has been taken into custody in the case.

The five allegedly lured Torrey D. Lawson and Andrew D. Stout to 995 Township Road 553 Saturday afternoon. They reportedly held a pistol on them, beat Lawson with a baseball bat and took about $40 in cash and prescription medication from him.

Lawson, of Ashland, declined hospital treatment. Stout, a Mansfield resident, was not injured.

Lawson and Stout knew the alleged perpetrators, who were rounded up by sheriff's deputies within hours of the robbery. Three were arrested at homes in the city and county. Two were taken into custody during a traffic stop on County Road 601 north of U.S. 42.

The adults are being held in County Jail and the teenage girl was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center.